"Miss McCauley was a special person who had a profound impact on everybody that she came in contact with," he said.

Defense attorneys for Johnson told the judge that he suffers from mental illness and had been sleeping on the streets for days before the murder. He had been discharged from a psychiatric facility because he had no insurance, they said.

Police Arrest Man in Death of Tricia McCauley

A 29-year-old Maryland man was arrested Tuesday and charged in the murder of Tricia McCauley, a D.C. actress and yoga instructor. News4's Mark Segraves has the latest on the investigation. News4's Jackie Bensen is live on the scene of a vigil.

(Published Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016)

The search for McCauley began the day after Christmas 2016, after she failed to show up to Christmas dinner at a friend's house.

She left her home on the 2000 block of North Capitol Street NW and got into her two-door Toyota Scion to drive to a friend's home in D.C. On the way, she encountered Johnson.

She tried to fight him off by kicking and punching him. During the struggle, her clothing ripped and Johnson broke her nose.

He strangled her. Then, he put her body in the backseat of her car.

Police launched a widespread search to find McCauley. In the hours following her disappearance, police released a photo of a man they said may have been driving McCauley's car.

Suspect in Yoga Instructor's Death Gives Grim Account of Ordeal

Prosecutors say Tricia McCauley, a D.C. yoga teacher and actress found murdered in her car, was also victim of a violent sex assault before her murder. News4's Mark Segraves reports from outside the courthouse where the suspect made his first court appearance.

(Published Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016)

A man who saw the photos police released online called police when he spotted McCauley's car. Jonathan Padget came face to face with Johnson near 21st and P streets NW, near Dupont Circle, he said.

"I definitely was aware that this could be a dangerous situation," he previously told News4.

Padget, who said he had friends who knew McCauley, said he spoke to the man and then called for help. The suspect's behavior seemed off, he said.

"He was moving around a lot, and he was smoking something," Padget said.

Police confronted Johnson several blocks to the southwest, inside the CVS store at 22nd and M streets NW. He gave officers the keys to McCauley's car, police said. He was found with several of McCauley's credit cards in his coat pocket.

When the officers searched the car, they found McCauley's body.

Frustration Over Murder Suspect's Previous Arrests

An outpouring of support for a popular yoga instructor found dead. But as loved ones honor Tricia McCauley's memory, tough questions are being asked about the long rap sheet of the man police arrested in connection to her death. News4's Jackie Bensen reports.

(Published Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016)

Police believe the suspect drove McCauley's car for as long as 24 hours before he was caught, stopping at several CVS stores.

Speaking with detectives at the D.C. police department's Homicide Branch, Johnson initially claimed he met McCauley on or about Christmas Day. He claimed she offered to give him a ride in his car and then offered to have sex with him. She then killed herself, he claimed, according to the court documents.

He then drove her car throughout D.C. for hours and made purchases using her credit cards. He said he picked up a prostitute.

When police asked Johnson why he drove with McCauley's body in the car, he claimed he thought she was sleeping and might awaken.

He claimed that prior to McCauley's death, she told him he could have all her belongings, including her credit cards, money and car, the documents say.

Johnson was arrested six previous times in 2016. He was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and wear a GPS ankle bracelet after he was charged with theft from two businesses on Dec. 17, 2016. But police said he was not wearing the monitor when he was arrested.

Johnson's stepfather, Russell Dixon, previously told The Washington Post that Johnson had been living on the streets and suffered from mental problems. Dixon suggested the courts had been too lenient on his stepson.

“The court system let him go. That’s not the help he needs,” he told the Post. “He should have been held.”

"Tricia was a very strong leader and at the same time a very gentle, compassionate, nurturing person," Jasmine Chehrazi, the founder of the D.C. yoga studio chain Yoga District, said.

McCauley's professional website includes a long list of acting credits, including with the Washington Stage Guild. She played Anna Karenina and acted in a Kennedy Center national tour, the website says. She also appeared in commercials and did voiceover work.

Suspect in Yoga Teacher's Death Had Prior Arrests

The man charged in the murder of D.C. yoga instructor Tricia McCauley was arrested six times in D.C. in 2016 and also faced charges in neighboring counties, court records show.

(Published Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2016)

She graduated from American University in 1992 with a degree in theater, her LinkedIn page says.

Three days before McCauley vanished, she emailed Chehrazi, who trained her as a yoga instructor, to thank her.

"She just put in big capital letters, 'thank you for the Yoga District community,'" Chehrazi said. "She didn't have to do that, but she did that because that's the type of person Tricia is."

Chehrazi said she believes McCauley would want her work as a yoga practitioner to live on.

"I know she would want us to keep breathing and keep working to find inner peace to help foster outer peace throughout the world," she said.

Johnson is set to serve 30 years in prison and will not be eligible for early release. He'll be 60 years old when he gets out. Then, he will be required to remain under court supervision until he's 90.

Her friend, Hively, said he hopes that in McCauley's memory D.C. will improve its social services.

"We hope that the D.C. court system and social services system will improve its mental health services to folks on the street, to folks who are suffering from mental health [problems] and drug addiction, in order to keep people safe," he said.